Eden Research plc Placing to raise £2.6m (4660T)

TIDMEDEN

RNS Number : 4660T

Eden Research plc

30 March 2016

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30 March 2016

Eden Research plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Placing to raise GBP2.6m

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM-listed company that provides breakthrough natural microencapsulation technologies to the global agrochemicals, animal health and consumer products industries, announces that it has raised GBP2.6 million, before expenses, through a placing with new and existing institutional shareholders by Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited ("Shore Capital") of 25,365,854 new ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company (the "Placing Shares") at a price of 10.25p each ("the Placing").

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Placing, inter alia, to:

   --     Register new products and increase the global reach of existing Eden products 
   --     Commence new R&D trials in both plant protection products and personal care applications 
   --     Pursue commercialisation of animal health products outside of the United States 
   --     Expand business and brand development activities 

Eden's Chief Executive, Sean Smith, commented: "The Placing is an important milestone in Eden's development, enabling the Company to accelerate its expansion without the funding constraints under which the Company has operated to date. In particular, the Placing will enable us to expand our product portfolio and geographical footprint for both existing and new products. We have worked hard to secure product registrations in Europe and Africa and build a strong base of commercialisation partners in these regions, and we look forward to further leveraging our past investments and relationships in order achieve the full potential of Eden's technology globally."

The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") and will represent 13.7% of the Company's enlarged issued share capital. Application has been made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to AIM and it is expected that admission will take place and trading in the Placing Shares will commence from 8.00 a.m. on 1 April 2016 ("Admission").

In connection with the Placing, Shore Capital, the Company and its directors have entered into a placing agreement pursuant to which Shore Capital has agreed conditionally to use its reasonable endeavours to place the Placing Shares at the Placing Price. The Placing (which is not underwritten) is conditional, inter alia, on the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects and not having been terminated in accordance with its terms and Admission.

As part of their placing participation of 19,512,195 Placing Shares (amounting to approximately GBP2 million at the Placing Price and representing 10.6 per cent. of the enlarged share capital), Livingbridge VC LLP has been granted the right to appoint a director to the board of the Company for as long as it retains a minimum interest of five per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company.

Following Admission, the Company's total issued and voting share capital will comprise 184,654,119 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, securities of the Company.

Enquiries:

 
 Eden Research plc                                  www.edenresearch.com 
 Sean Smith, Chief Executive                          Tel: [phone] 
  Officer 
 Alex Abrey, Chief Financial 
  Officer 
 
   Shore Capital 
   Stephane Auton / Patrick                           Tel: [phone] 
   Castle 
 
 Walbrook PR Ltd               Tel: [phone] or [e-mail] 
 Paul McManus                                         Mob: [phone] 
 

Notes:

Eden is an early stage revenue company with intellectual property and expertise in encapsulation, terpenes and environmentally friendly technologies to provide naturally occurring solutions to the global agrochemicals industry, the animal health industry, and consumer products.

Eden's encapsulation technology harnesses the biocidal efficacy of naturally occurring chemicals produced by plants (terpenes) and can also be used with both natural and synthetic hydrophobic compounds. The technology uses yeast cells that are a by-product of numerous commercial production processes to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

With leading consultants in their respective fields, the Company is developing these technologies through innovative research and a series of commercial production, marketing and distribution partnerships.

The Company has a number of patents and a pipeline of products at differing stages of development targeting specific areas of the global agrochemicals industry. To date, the Company has invested in the region of GBP12m in developing and protecting its intellectual property and seeking regulatory approval for products that rely upon the Company's technologies. Revenues earned by the Company have been modest whilst the Company has concentrated on securing patent protection for its intellectual property, gaining regulatory approvals, identifying suitable industrial partners, and entering into licence agreements.

In May of 2013, the three actives that comprise Eden's first commercial product, 3AEY, were approved as new ingredients for use in plant protection products. This represents a major milestone in the commercialisation of Eden's technology and is a significant accomplishment for any company. To illustrate this point, one should note that in all of 2013, Eden's approvals represented 3 of only 10 new active ingredients approved by the EC.

3AEY has been authorised for sale in Kenya, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy.

Eden was admitted to trading on AIM on 11 May 2012 and trades under the symbol EDEN.

For more information about Eden, please visit: www.edenresearch.com

Disclaimer

Shore Capital, which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as Broker exclusively for the Company in connection with the Placing and will not be responsible to any person other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to its customers or for advising any other person on the contents of this announcement or any matter, transaction or arrangement referred to herein.

This announcement has been issued by the Company and is the sole responsibility of the Company. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Shore Capital or by any of its affiliates or agents as to, or in relation to, the accuracy or completeness of this announcement or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers, and any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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March 30, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)